1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feed carrying apparatus for distributing feed for domestic animals to a number of feeding units through a pipeline from a feed hopper.
2. Related Art Statement
Various kinds of feed carrying apparatuses provided with pipelines have been heretofore known. Conventional systems include, for example, as shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, a system in which a pipeline 503 is provided at one end with a feed charging port from a feed hopper 505, and disposed at the other end with a driving device 504, whereby a centerless auger 502 which is housed in the pipeline 503 and connected to the driving device 504 is rotated by the driving device 504 to carry feed S within the pipeline 503 and feed S are fallen down into the feeding units 507 through feed falling-down pipes 506 from feed falling-down ports; and a system in which the centerless auger 502 is not rotated by the driving device 504 but forcibly fed to thereby carry feed S present between coils 502a of the centerless auger 502 within the pipeline 503.
In the system for carrying feed S making use of the centerless auger 502, however, a winding pitch of the coils 502a constituting the centerless auger 502 need be set as small as possible in order to maintain strength thereof. However, this poses a problem that when coarse compositions of feed S are contained in the coils 502a of the centerless auger 502, carrying becomes disabled.
In order to overcome the problem as described above, there has been known a disk cable system in which as shown in FIGS. 36 and 37, a disk cable 602 connected endlesswise is inserted into a pipeline 603, and the disk cable 602 is forcibly fed in a direction of arrow x by a driving device 604 to thereby carry feed S charged between disks 602b of the disk cable 602 from a feed hopper 605 and distribute them to feeding units 607 through feed falling-down pipes 606.
In the disk cable 602, as shown in FIG. 37, the disks 602b are secured to a flexible wire 602a in a fixed spaced relations.
In this disk cable system also, carrying resistance is great at corners 603a where the pipeline 603 is bent substantially at right angles (xcex8=90xc2x0) vertically or horizontally, and for reducing the resistance, corner joints 608 housing wheels 625 therein are disposed at the corners 603a, as shown in FIG. 38.
In the corner joint 608, as shown in FIG. 38, collars 619a, 620a and 619b, 619b of covers 619, 620 are placed in contact and fastened by bolts 621 and nuts 622 to thereby form a wheel receiving part 623 and a bent pipe part 624.
Further, in order to be able to reduce a great carrying resisting force at the corners 603a, a wheel 625 is rotatably supported by a rotational shaft 626 in the wheel receiving part 623, a disk cable 602 having disks 602b secured to a flexible wire 602a in a fixed spaced relations is inserted into the bent pipe part 624, and the disk 602b is placed in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the wheel 625 for movement.
In the drive device 604 or 664, as shown in FIG. 39 or 40, a driving sprocket 640, 680 is disposed within a casing 639, 679, the disk cable 602 is extended over the sprocket 640, 680, and the driving sprocket 640, 680 is driven by a driving motor 641, 681 to thereby travel the disk cable 602.
In order that the disk cable 602 is always tensed so as be traveled by the driving sprocket 640, 680 positively, a floating pulley 642, 682 is disposed in the casing 639, 679, the disk cable 602 is also extended over the floating pulley 642, 682 and the floating pulley 642, 682 is always tensed by a tension spring 643, 683 through a support member 644, 684 to constitute a disk cable tension applying mechanism 651, 691 for applying tension to the disk cable 602.
On the other hand, there is known a feed carrying apparatus wherein in order to resist against a great carrying resisting force at the corners 703a, as shown in FIG. 42, corner joints 708 comprising bent pipes having a relatively large radius of curvature are disposed at the corners 703a, and a plurality of drive devices 704 having a relatively small horse power are disposed directly before each of the corners 703a. 
The drive device 704 is designed so that as shown in FIG. 43, a drive pulley 720 and a driven pulley 721 are disposed in a casing 719, a disk cable 602 is extended over the drive pulley 720, and the drive pulley 720 is driven by a drive motor to thereby travel the disk cable 602.
In order that the disk cable 602 is not loosened but always tensed so as be traveled by the drive pulley 720 positively, a floating pulley 722 is disposed in the casing 719, the disk cable 602 is also extended over the floating pulley 722, and the floating pulley 722 is always raised by a compression spring 723 to constitute a disk cable tension applying mechanism 731 for suitably adjusting tension of the disk cable 602.
However, in the disk cable system in which the corner joint 608 having the wheel 625 housed therein is disposed, since an angle of an external angle of the bent pipe part 624 is formed to be substantially right angles (xcex8=90xc2x0), when the pipeline 603 is repetitively bent vertically or horizontally or when obstacles D, D are present halfway of the pipeline channel, as shown in FIG. 44, the pipeline 603 is complicatedly bent and the pipeline channel is also lengthened, because of which the load applied to the wire 602a of the disk cable 602 becomes so great as to possibly break the wire in a short period of time.
Further, even the corner joint 608 having the wheel 625 housed therein, feed S breaks in the wheel receiving part 623, and so, the wheel 625 may not be rotated smoothly so much, which also results in that the load applied to the wire 602a becomes excessively great.
In the system wherein the corner joint 608 having the wheel housed therein is disposed at the corner 603a, and the disk cable tension applying mechanism 651, 691 for pulling the floating pulley 642, 682 by the tension spring 643, 683 is constituted, where the length of the disk cable 602 becomes elongated due to the use for a long period so that the elongation exceeds a fixed length, the disk cable 602 is loosened so that the tension spring 643, 683 becomes contracted, failing to apply fixed tension to the disk cable 602.
If this condition is left, the disk cable 602 cannot be traveled positively by the drive sprocket 640, 680 or, in the worst case, the disk cable 602 is disengaged from the drive sprocket 640, 680, causing the disk cable 602 not to travel at all. It has been therefore necessary, after use for a long period, to separate the pipeline 603 once, and cut the disk cable 602 to a suitable length so as to be able to apply fixed tension.
Further, as shown in FIG. 39 or 40, since the floating pulley 642, 682 is cantilevered by a support member 644, 684 and a support shaft 642a, 682a it is sometimes that the support shaft 642a, 682a of the floating pulley 642, 682 is apt to be slightly displaced, and after the use for a long period, the floating pulley 642, 682 cannot be pulled positively, or the floating pulley 642, 682 cannot be rotated smoothly.
In the conventional driving device 604, since the elastic force of the tension spring 643 is changed in direction by two pulleys 646, 646 through the wire 645 to transmit it to the floating pulley 642, it is sometimes that the elastic force is materially lowered by the resisting force at the contact part with the two pulleys 646, 646, or the pulleys 646, 646 are not rotated due to the use for a long period, failing to apply the elastic force.
In the conventional driving device 664, in order to avoid that the disk cable 602 moving in a direction of y is superposed between the drive sprocket 680 and the floating pulley 682 as shown in FIG. 40(A), the drive sprocket 680 is inclined at a fixed angle as shown in FIG. 40(B). Because of this, where high tension is always applied to the disk cable 602, there is the possibility that the disk cable 602 is disengaged from the drive sprocket 680.
Further, when the disk cable 602 becomes elongated due to the use for a long period to weaken tension, even in usual time, when the disk cable 602 is greatly vibrated, it is sometimes that the disk cable 602 is disengaged from the drive sprocket 680. Further, it is sometimes that by some reason, high load is applied to the disk cable 602 as shown in FIG. 41(A), or the disk cable 602 become broken as shown in FIG. 41(B).
So, for the purpose of detecting the disengagement of the disk cable 602, the application of high load or the breakage, an operating lever 686 is locked to the support member 684, and limit switches 687 and 688 are arranged at a suitable position of the casing 679 to make monitoring all the time. Then, where the disk cable 602 is disengaged, high load is applied, or breakage occurs, an operator immediately makes re-mounting or re-adjustment. However, since the disk cable 602 is extended over the drive sprocket 680 and the floating pulley 682, the mounting and adjusting work was extremely troublesome.
Further, in the conventional driving device 604, 664, disposition is necessary, in terms of mechanism, at a position where feed S is rarely present in the pipeline 603, that is, at a position directly before the feed hopper 605 where feed S has been supplied to all the feed units 607. However, the carrying of feed S cannot be made as theory. When feed S returned from the pipeline 603 is gradually accumulated in the driving device 604, 664 and moves into the coil part of the tension spring 643, 683 and the shafts of the drive sprocket 640, 680 and the floating pulley 642, 682, these operations are caused to be obstructed.
The feed hopper 605 becomes so large in size as to be disposed externally of a pigsty or a henhouse, and the driving device 604, 664 is naturally disposed outdoors. So, water-proof processing need be done so as to prevent rain water from entry, and the casing 639, 679 was made of stainless or covered with a sheet cover, but complete water-proof cannot be achieved, and rain water or the like moves into the driving device 604, 664 so that the drive sprocket 640, 680 and the floating pulley 642, 682 become rusty, and the feed S becomes addled.
Further, in the conventional driving device 604, 664, only one device can be disposed at a position directly before the feed hopper 605, and the length of the disk cable 602 driven is limited to about 200 m, in terms of mechanism. So, it is necessary for carrying feed S to a distant place to provide a further feed carrying apparatus.
On the other hand, in the conventional corner joint 608, the disk 602b of the disk cable 602 moving in a direction of z comes in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the wheel 625 and moves while rotating the wheel 625 to, Thereby relieve the carrying resisting force at the corner 603a. However, when feed S enters the narrow wheel receiving part 623 and becomes compressed, and the frictional resisting force caused by feed S increases, the wheel 95 cannot be rotated smoothly.
As described above, the conventional corner joint 608 is not able to relieve the carrying resisting force in the corner 603a so much, and when the pipeline 603 becomes long and the corner 603a increases, load applied to the disk cable 602 becomes excessively high so as to be possibly broken in a short period of time. From a viewpoint of this, the pipeline 603 cannot be lengthened so much, and when the disk cable 602 is broken, an operator has to make remounting immediately, being extremely troublesome.
On the other hand, in the arrangement wherein the driving device 704 is disposed directly before the corner 703a, the circumferential surface of the disk 602b of the disk cable 602 and the inner surface of the bent pipe joint 708 come in contact in a large area within the corner joint 708 comprising a bend pipe, as shown in FIG. 45, and come in contact with the feed S also in a large area whereby the frictional force becomes extremely great, and the load applied to the wire 602b becomes excessively high.
Further, in the arrangement wherein the driving device 704 is disposed directly before the corner 703a, the cost of apparatus is high, and in addition, since the disk cable 602 is driven by a plurality of driving device 704, a severe fine vibration occurs in the wire 602a in both length and diametrical directions, resulting in application of unnecessary load to the wire 602a, and resulting in greater noises.
In the arrangement wherein a plurality of driving devices 704 having a relatively small horse power are disposed directly before the corners 703a, and the disk cable tension applying mechanism 731 for raising the floating pulley 722 by the compression spring 723 is constituted, even if the length of the disk cable 602 is elongated due to the use for a long period, the pressing force of the compression spring 723 is adjusted by the plurality of disk cable tension applying mechanisms 731 to thereby apply fixed tension to the disk cable 602.
However, since the plurality of driving devices 704 having the disk cable tension applying mechanisms 731 housed therein are disposed, the cost of the feed carrying apparatus 701 is extremely high. Further, since the disk cable 602 is driven by the plurality of driving devices 704, a severe fine vibration occurs in the disk cable 602 in both length and diametrical directions, resulting in greater noises. Furthermore, since tension is adjusted by the plurality of disk cable tension applying mechanisms 731, the tension adjusting work requires a great deal of labor and time.
As shown in FIG. 43, since the contact angle between the drive pulley 720, the driven pulley 721 and the disk cable 602 is relatively small, the disk cable 602 is apt to be disengaged particularly in the driven pulley 721 on the loosened side so that the situation that the driving force of the drive motor is not transmitted occurs. Therefore, a switch for detecting the loosening of the drive pulley 720 and the driven pulley 721 is arranged, when the loosening is detected, the drive motor is stopped. It becomes necessary to effect the work for extending the disk cable 602 over the drive pulley 720 and the driven pulley 721.
In the centerless auger system also, at the corner 503a where the pipeline 503 is bent vertically or horizontally, the carrying resistance is great. However, in terms of constitution of the centerless auger 502 comprising the coils 502a, even the corner joint 608 having the wheel 625 housed therein is disposed at the corner 503a, or even the corner joint 708 comprising a bent pipe having a relatively large radius of curvature is disposed at the corner 503a, or even the drive device 704 having a relatively small horse power is disposed immediately before the corner 703a, the effect of reducing the carrying resistance can be rarely expected.
Accordingly, an attempt has been made so that the bent angle of the pipeline 503 at the corner 503a is made to be considerably smaller than the right angles (xcex8=90xc2x0) so as to reduce the carrying resistance at the corner 503a to some extent. As a result, the ability capable of carrying feed S is low, and in addition, the pipeline channel is unavoidably linear to fail to carry feed S efficiently.
The present invention has been accomplished in order to solve problems as seen in the above-described conventional feed carrying apparatuses, and has an object to provide a feed carrying apparatus in which by reducing the carrying resistance at a corner of a pipeline, loads applied to a wire of a disk cable, and coils of a centerless auger are reduced, the cost of apparatus is lowered, and feed can be carried smoothly and efficiently without occurrence of great noises.
For achieving the above object, a feed carrying apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that a corner joint formed with a plurality of projections which project inwardly is disposed on a bent pipe part.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a feed carrying apparatus in which even where the length of a disk cable is elongated due to the use for a long period, fixed tension can be applied to the disk cable always without cutting the disk cable in length or without requiring a great deal of labor and time for tension adjusting work, and the disk cable can be traveled by a drive sprocket positively.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a feed carrying apparatus which is not high in cost, free from noises caused by a fine vibration of the disk cable, and which requires no special detection mechanism.
For achieving the above object, the feed carrying apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that a tension applying mechanism is disposed in which a load corresponding to weight of a weight is loaded whereby fixed tension is always applied to the disk cable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a feed carrying apparatus wherein in a drive device, even if strong tension is not always applied to the disk cable, the disk cable is not disengaged from a drive sprocket easily whereby means for detecting that the disk cable is disengaged is not particularly necessary, and water-proof processing with respect to rain water need not be applied, and feed S can be carried to a distant place; and in a corner joint, the carrying resisting force at the corner can be considerably reduced, and even pipeline is lengthened and corners are increased, load is not applied to the disk cable so much whereby the disk cable is not possibly broken in a short period, and the cost of the whole apparatus can be considerably reduced.
For achieving the above object, the feed carrying apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that a drive device having a drive motor connected to a corner joint is arranged at a corner of the pipeline to drive a drive sprocket constituting a corner joint to move the disk cable.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a feed carrying apparatus wherein in a drive device, where strong tension is not always applied to the disk cable, the disk cable is not disengaged from a drive sprocket easily, even if, where the disk cable is disengaged, high load is applied, and breakage occurs, re-mounting and re-adjustment can be made easily, feed S returned is gradually accumulated in the drive device, operation of the drive sprocket or the like is not obstructed, water-proof measures with respect to rain water or the like need not be applied, and feed S can be carried to a distant place; and in a corner joint, the carrying resisting force at the corner can be considerably reduced, and even pipeline is lengthened and corners are increased, load is not applied to the disk cable so much whereby the disk cable is not possibly broken in a short period, and the cost of the whole apparatus can be considerably reduced.
For achieving the above object, the feed carrying apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that a drive device is disposed at the corner of the pipeline, the drive device having a casing being formed with a cable inlet on the upper end of the side wall part and a cable outlet on the bottom wall part, and being formed with an incline wall, and having a drive sprocket arranged separately from the inclined wall within the casing.